
Class _^ 
Book_ 



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Gopiglit'N?. 



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CQEXRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



The Garden by the Sea 



And Other Poems 



BY 



GEORGE W. HARRINGTON 

Author of "A Reversion of Form/* **The Garden 
of Unrest/* etc. 




THE CORNHILL PUBLISHING COMPANY 
BOSTON 



.^-K^r^"^-:^ 






^ %^ 



Copyright 1921 

by 

THE CORNHILL PUBLISHING COMPANY 



©nUB54220 

4 • ♦ 

#• * 
• • «• 

Printed in U. S. A. 



THE PILGRIM PRESS 
BOSTON 



•%x^ 



TO THE HALLOWED MEMORY OF 
ONE WHOSE JUSTICE, PATIENCE 
AND CHARITY MET EVERY NEED, 
WHOSE SYMPATHY WAS QUICK 
AND BOUNDLESS AND WHOSE 
ENDURING LOVE IS A RADIANT 
BENEDICTION — 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The Gaeden by the Sea 3 

To 4 

Pn^GRIMS 5 

Figments 6 

Simply a Man 7 

Youth 8 

"The Night Cometh On" 9 

Night 10 

Gates of England 11 

Incompleteness 14 

With Changing Years 15 

Today and Tomorrow 16 

When 17 

Our Stewardship 20 

She Who Was Here 21 

The Brief Day of Gladness 23 

Indoors and Out 24 

Beyond the Mists 24 

The Gracious Days 25 

"Harriet" 26 

A Certain Traffic Policeman 27 

Blossoms of Fragrant Days 29 

The Heedless 30 

Our Privilege 31 

Unto Full Fruition 31 

The Practical Joker 32 

Treasures and Withholdings 35 

The Dreamers 36 

The Early Days — and These 37 

The Exception 38 

Night and the City Streets 39 

Why? 39 

The Poignant Watch 40 



[vii] 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The Bountiful Morn 41 

Liking and Disfavor 42 

Toward Better Things 43 

The Boon of Today 43 

A Friend 44 

I'D Like—? 45 

The Early Days 46 

As THE Dead Leaves Crackle 47 

The Cold Grows Apace 48 

The Sage in Bud 49 

Her Dead Lover and a Friend 50 

With Eyes Uplifted 50 

The Handicapped 51 

Betty 53 

The Pines 54 

The Night Watch 56 

The Pangs of Yearning 57 

The Lake 58 

The Day of Parting 59 

Toward Peace 60 

The Pains of Victory 61 

Introspection 64 

John Roberts 66 

Alibis 67 

Christmas Eve 68 

Twilight 70 

Surcease 71 

Life's Fairest Hour 72 

The River at Dawn 74 

Humanity 75 

Momentous Interests 76 

The Wooden Cross 77 

Part of the Song 77 

A Mystery 78 

The Days in Store 79 

Theirs and Mine 80 

Sunset 81 



[ viii ] 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Voices 82 

" Time in Thy Flight" 83 

Values 84 

Man and Manikin 88 

Fundamentals 92 

At Forty-five 96 

The Roses in Uncle Jim's Garden 97 

Silence and the Dews 98 



[ix] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 

I love the murmur of the rill 

That wanders down the wooded hill ; 

I love the droning of the bees ; 

The winds a-whisp 'ring to the trees ; 

Rare fragrance of a garden known 

To tender boyhood, mute and lone; 

The changing moods of Neptune, king, 

And high o 'er head the gull a-wing : 

The silver path across the sea, 

A still, white beach, the stars — and thee ! 



[3] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



TO 



That doubtful gift of strength to sway 
The minds of men, to rule their acts, 

You may not have, nor see the day 

When you can smile o 'er self -wrought facts ; 

You may not play a major part 

In Life's great drama — good and ill. — 

Misunderstood? And sore at heart? 
Untranquil, with a troubled will! 

No doubt, and there are moments black 
When all the world is cold and drear 

And sombre skies, with threatening wrack 
Frown overhead, and naught is clear. 

Still, just and kind and true to all. 

And bold dishonor to assail. 
You can be, and you dare not fall 

From such estate, nor fear, nor fail. 



[4] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



PILGRIMS 

Pleasant it is to know 

That these, my kin — 

And one with me for aye — 

Have kindly thoughts and good, 

And knightly impulses, 

Are gentle, brave and true, 

Amidst the changing mists of doubt 

And strange obscurity of this 

Our world so mutable, 

So old and strange; 

Ay, in truth, 

They are comrades, 

Bravely singing 

On the march 

From mystery to mystery. 



[5] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



FIGMENTS 

I 

The firelit hearth a field for fancy spreads: 

Fantastic shadows flit about the room ; 

I seem to see a hundred changing shapes, 

And myriad things unknown to daylight's eyes, 

Elusive, whimsical, unreal — 

Gnomes darting up the chimney. 

Oddly nimble, deft of hand and foot, 

Their lightness and their gaiety 

A source of joy; 

Anon a goblin's gross grimace! 

And all unusual, bizarre. 

With charm replete, 

And strangely, sweetly restful 

To the world-worn soul ! 

II 

*'A dream,'' you say? 
*^And unsubstantial, vain. 

Void, idle, unproductive, childish, weak? 

Unworthy of a man's creative brain?" 

Ill 
Mayhap, and yet I wonder and I ask 
Is this more foolish than our wisest quest? 
More unsubstantial 
Than our much-considered ends? — 
The dry, drear blossoms of a fragrant love 
Are ours, with all their fears and tears ; 

[6] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



The tawdry music of the clinking gold 

Which once we sought and bought 

Exasperates our senses. 

The toys we fashioned 

(Though we did not call them such) 

Are lying, broken, 

In a silent corner 

Thick with dust. — 

I pause, reflect, despair. — 

Chimerical is life, so far 

As ours to hold and know : 

Mirages all about! 

And in the drifting, lifting mists 

Stark and grim, and mocking 

Both our strength and weakness, 

Euins ! 

SIMPLY A MAN 

I cannot rise as I would soar, 
Or do the work of supermen : 
I cannot make myself beloved 
By young and old, by rich and poor; 
But I can think as thinks a man — 
Ay! Less would be a shirker's shame- 
And I can trust and hope and work, 
And waiting, find it good to wait. 



[7] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



YOUTH 

Why is the day of youth so brief? 

The plaything of eternal time! 
How vital, lambent, brave and quick 

Its transports ! Real, its soul sublime ! 

The present good, tomorrow bright! 

To early questions. Youth's response! 
A paradise of fools, mayhap; 

And yet — a paradise, the nonce. 

Ah ! in that evanescent hour, 

How mean our thoughts of years to come ^ 
The present then was all — enough — 

And yet a tithe of all the sum. 

Objective then, and clearly drawn 
The things of worth and things of waste ! 

Equivocations, questions, lies 
To self were not, nor slavish haste. 

In dreams so true, so real, so dear 
I oft re-live this fragrant past: 

Then I awake — a strange moon shines; 
Unwonted, hard iconoclast! 

The sun, the dews, the distant stars, 

The open, unexploited truth. 
The song of birds, the hedgerows sweet — 

Ah ! these — and theirs — ^belong to Youth. 

[8] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



**THE NIGHT COMETH ON'' 

Behind green, wind-tossed leaves the sunset flames, 

While bravely billows white and grey roll free; 

A portent of the night, oncoming, rides 

And all the world awaits the dark — and peace. 

Surges my spirit, though the day is done. 

Serenity my troubled heart forsakes; 

The hour of rest approacheth, mine to spend 

In wooing rest — elusive, gibing ghost! 

My very thoughts, untranquil, spur the mind 

In endless journey over ruthless paths: 

Unrest stalks starkly, broods a trammelled soul. 

While all the eerie, sable flock bestir. 

Arise, career through soughing, wistful winds — 

Not soaring skyward, quick with ecstasy. 

But earth-bound, stricken and with weighted 

wings — 
How like my soul to troubled elements ! 



[9] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



NIGHT 

Alone within my dark, encloistered chamber 

I stand a-brooding, in the silence deep, 
Against a dreamer ^s kindly casement leaning. 

Ere I would ask of God His gift of sleep. 
Tranquil the river, bathed in tender moonlight ! 

Mute and mysterious from age to age, 
Slow with the dignity of days eternal. 

Wise with the wisdom of a wordless sage ! 
Beyond, as if inviting spirit- vision. 

Stretches away the woodland and the sown; 
In harmony beneath the gloried heavens 

All things are one, as of the whole foreknown. 
Effulgence, fragrance, rest — strife soothed to 
slumber ! 

Why, God of all, am I alone, alone? 



[10] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



GATES OF ENGLAND 

When the lads of England's future 
Songs of praise to heroes sing, 

Let them voice a ringing paean 
And a hero 's garlands bring. 

Know ye one in myth and fable, 
Know ye one in deeds of earth 

Who surpasses Gates, the soldier! — 
And Gld England gave him birth. 

There were valiant hearts at Delhi 
And at Cawnpore, beating true, 

Yes, at Ladysmith and Mafeking, 
The Soudan and Waterloo. 

All the lights of martial glory 
In their highest splendor shine 

At the death-defying spirit 

Gf the dauntless ^ * thin, red line. ' ' 

But with naught of pomp or clamor, 
Cursed by bitter, blighting cold. 

Forged this fearless spirit forward — 
Albion's son, of knightly mould. 

[11] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



Frost, fatigue and grimmer hunger, 
Illness, disappointment, dread 

Could not crush this British captain, 
Could not count his purpose dead. 

'Gainst the cruel odds of nature 
At her strongest and her worst. 

When the cry of human evil 

From the hopeless heart would burst. 

Fared he on at duty 's slogan, 
Failing not and undismayed. 

Not forgetting — but foregoing — 
Neither boasting nor afraid. 

When no longer could he stagger 

On the persecuting trail, 
And delay to his companions 

Promised death, pray, did he fail? 

Spake this knightly English soldier 
(Give the words to song and rhyme) 
**I am going out, my comrades. 
And I may be gone some time. ' ' 

There was naught of oath or whining. 

No heroics, gestures, tears, 
But the faithful, simple purpose 

Of a soul unsoiled by fears. 

[12] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



In his sacrifice, unmeasured, 

In his faith and love we see 
Something of the immolation 

Of the Man of Galilee. 

Tremble not for England's honour; 

Be assured — ^ye ask me why? 
Englishmen like Gates and Andre 

Show their kindred how to die. 

The grim tragedy of the British National Antarctic Expedition, led by Captain 
Scott, resulting as it did in reaching the South Pole five weeks after Amundsen 
is epitomized in the message of its leader, written March 25th, 1912, four days be- 
fore his death from starvation and exposure: " I do not regiet this journey, which 
has shown that Englishmen can endure hardships, help one another and meet 
death with as great fortitude as ever in the past." 



[13] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



INCOMPLETENESS 

An enterprising salesman, 

A purveyor of goods — 

Not all of which were bad — 

Put a sign in the lobby 

Of his shop 

Which read like this: 

^^Walk up two flights 

And save half/' 

A proposition 

At once sane and intelligible. 

A wag saw the sign 

And was tempted; 

The flesh was weak 

And he fell. 

(Why so often thus?) 

He added to the sign, 

Writing with a stubby pencil 

These words. 

Of temperamental potency, 

*^Then jump off 

And thus save 

The other half." 

Now the sad sequel 

To the foregoing 

Is this — whisper it in sorrow- 

The purveyor of goods. 

Although a bit of a wit 

Among his fellows, 

[14] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



Became very angry 

And loudly said rough things ; 

Which goes to show 

That man is not 

A finished product, 

But is embryonic — 

If not an experiment. 



WITH CHANGING YEARS 

I would that I might join them 

In their laughter and their play, 
In glad, untroubled sunshine 
Of a brief and happy day. 

Theirs the lilt, the tuneful lightness. 
Bubbling joy and jewelled brightness !- 
that sweet, emblossomed way ! 

These moments free and joyful. 

Not, alas, for such as we. 
Nor fairies in the moonlight 

Underneath the greenwood tree- 



Grown, in truth, too soon forgetful. 
Yearning now, with hearts regretful, 
For the child each used to be ! 



[15] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



TODAY AND TOMORROW 

** There is no life beyond the grave/' he cried; 

And then his soul took flight 

Unto the Great Spaces. * * * * 
**But why,'* we ask, **are love and hope and joy, 

Grief, disappointment, woe 

And that brooding melancholy 

Which makes all the glad, green earth 

Cold and grey? 

Why outspringing, evanescent youth? 

And halting, reminiscent age? 

Passion and pain and penitence! 

The quick, harsh judgments 

Of our fellow man? 

And why, if now is all, 

The awful loneliness 

Of this, our day ? 



[16] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



WHEN 

{Modelled on Kipling's ''If') 

When ye have paid the price of youth's impatience 

In years of wonder, pain and solitude ; 
When ye have known mankind's misunderstand- 
ing, 

Have found earth's grudging praise but folly's 
food; 
When ye have seen your fondest works demolished 

And known your inmost aims conceived in fault ; 
In doubt, have learned to doubt your very motives, 

Have begged of night a plague of pain to halt ; 

When ye have known your fair intent disfigured 

By meretricious and malicious minds, 
And clacking of reviling tongues in slander 

Calumniates your faith, on witless winds; 
When ye have hoped, and sat by hope a-dying ; 

When ye have loved and vowed and sworn 
amiss ; 
When ye have seen your heartfelt work neglected, 

Have traded precious time for poisoned bliss ; 

When ye have watched the spedous horde, enslav- 
ing. 

Throw loaded dice and mulct unwary youth, 
Have seen their evil flaunt the golden sunlight. 

And learned that they derided God and truth ; 

[17] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



When ye have known shy merit rent asunder, 
And in her place found brazenness installed, 

Have heard the toy of virtue 's sly despoiler 
By whited Jezebels an outcast called ; 

When ye have made a prayer at sacred altars 

And turned to meet iconoclastic scribes ; 
When ye were wooed to serve and worship Mam- 
mon 

With Pharisees and ilk of baser tribes ; 
When love of those you love asked **why'^ — and 
faltered — 

And work and play and hope, as though of cards. 
Lay prone and still, but bitterly reminding. 

Nor sweet the song of once bewitching bards ; 

When sunlight, pure, and all the gifts of sunlight 

Have given place to darkness and despair. 
In shadow moves mankind, the child of shadow, 

Quintessence of this void, to youth so fair — 
I see thee, pilgrim, strangely wan and wasted : 

Thy talisman is vain, thy goal afar; 
No message on the weary winds availeth 

To beckon thee with beacon ray, or star ; 

When those you love look vainly for protection. 
While usury of earth takes bloody toll; 

When near and dear misunderstand and hurt you 
And blame you for the things which sear your 

[18] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



When ** slings and arrows of outrageous fortune'' 
Have wreaked their worst on body, heart and 
brain ; — 

Then from the depths, my son, a soul emerges : 
And God Omniscient knows its cost in pain. 



[19] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



OUR STEWAEDSHIP 

Time is not ours, except for uses good, 

Nor wealth, nor benefits nor luxury 

Conferred by ancestors or kin remote. 

Or those enslaved by some for something done. 

The verities eternal hold their sway. 

And naught of selfish thought or deed unfair 

Can change ordained, eternal, basic things. 

Temptation menaces on either hand. 

Insidious, persistent, specious, sly; 

With special pleas to meet a special bent, 

And watchful, unrelenting, artful, apt 

Awaits unguarded moments: 

Doubt, regret, the clouded hour, pride 

Brought to grief — ah, pride looms large — 

Are quickly known, and exploited; — 

And then, perchance, 

A taste of honied crumbs, in mockery 

Of honest happiness — 

And eons of remorse. 

No, passion, treason, hatred, lust 

May seem to gain, and e 'en to hold the day ! 

But God is in His Heaven, and divine 

Justice and reason, order from on high, 

Are present, and the end is well. 



[20] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



SHE WHO WAS HEEE 

The river winding toward the sea, 
A-shimmer in the moonlight pale, 

And stars, a staff of satellites — 
Not these should see the spirit fail. 

Ay ! By my side she stood, and there, 
Beneath that patriarchal moon. 

We knew, and knowing were at rest — 
Vain, separation, far or soon I 

Not onrs for earthly space alone; 

We knew, at peace, that heart and heart 
Were one, and time and tide and stress 

As trappings of the mundane mart. 

Now down Life's river, far away. 
Out o'er the mute, uncharted sea, 

Her soul, on ordained currents borne, 
Goes to that deep eternity! 

No more her voice shall greet my ear. 
Nor smile of hers to shadows give 

A strange and gentle wistfulness — 
The day dawns less : she does not live. 

Mourning and vibrant on the shore. 
Alone, with misted, yearning eyes 

I gaze afar. The river flows 
Out to the sea, in olden wise. 

[21] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



The day is long, yet but a day ; — 

Forever manumitted souls 
Are welded, and the day seems fair 

When life is done and toys and tolls. 

Toward vast finality we drift: 
Rill, brook and river, ocean wide — 

She is not gone while we remain; 
The ways eternal yet abide. 



[22] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE BRIEF DAY OF GLADNESS 

The strong, West wind 

Is playing, roughly. 

With the trees in leaf. 

Snowy, gracefully moving billows. 

Against a wonderful, cobalt sky, 

Manoeuvre above us. 

Sweetly the birds sing. 

As they flit to and fro. 

The faint perfume of flowers 

And the cool, damp odor, fresh and pleasant, 

Of the blowing grass. 

And of the shrubs and moss 

Comes to us, pervasively, 

Appealingly. — 

We read a little. 

Talk a little, muse and wonder : 

We are young; 

Time, and the urge of gold, 

And power, the opinions 

Of conventional folk, 

Commonplace duties 

And absurd obligations. 

These have not spoiled us — 

And for one brief day 

Eeigneth God's own Springtime. 



[23] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



INDOOES AND OUT 

When the stated task is irksome 
And the heart reverts to fear, 
When our cares and doubts and troubles 
Hydra-headed spectres rear, 

With the purling streams inviting 
And the speckled beauties biting. 
While the birds a troth are plighting- 
Longer seems the day, and drear. 



BEYOND THE MISTS 

The regions of the known and tangible 

Lie near at hand. 

Ever within our sight, or just beyond; 

And to our simple standards 

Do they lend themselves : 

But what of other realms? 

The fair, beguiling land of dreams, 

The principality of portents 

And of whispers from afar. — 

W^e know that certain things must be, 

For reason tells us so ; 

And there are kinship and analogy. 

Sequence and a balance, true. 

Tide, rhythm and recurrence, 

Measured and sure, sustained. 

Responding to a nicety, and quick, 

Yes, quick with germinative fire. 

[24] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



Beyond the vast, primeval, 

Far-stretching reaches of the forest — 

Beyond the great, grey, lonely, 

Restless, moody, cryptic, surging sea, 

Triumphant and uncaressed — 

Beyond the stern and silent mountains, 

Grand, untroubled, neither prize nor prey — 

Ay, beyond our sight. 

Beyond the scope of weight and measure, 

Lies this realm. 

This world of mystery. 

Extant and positive, and fitly proportionate, 

Yet as elusive and intangible 

As the drifting mists. 



THE GRACIOUS DAYS 

Summer rain is gently falling 
And the birds are gladly calling: 

Eden here — and life abounds. — 
These the days of generous measure, 
Bountiful with golden treasure. 
Pure and sunny hours of pleasure! 

Goodly sights and soothing sounds ! 



[26] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



^^ HARRIET^' 

Yes, just a scrubby little chestnut mare. 

A trifle slack of loin, too much in girth. 
With the wire scars, and others, here and there, 

And no outstanding signs of special worth: 
Her head is plain, and not too well put on, 

^ ^ Cat-haxnmed, ' ' a little ^^sickle-hocked,'' to 
boot. 
Her tail set just a bit too low, nor well. 

No cavalier fastidious would she suit. 

She has no burst of speed, sensational, 

Nor yet endurance past the equine mob ; 
No action grand, or balance wonderful. 

Nor special fitness for a special job. — 
Yet, her I love, who shared my happy hours. 

And many miles beside her walked in joy. 
For was she not the mount, companion, friend. 

Both staunch and gentle, of my youngest boy? 



[26] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



A CERTAIN TRAFFIC POLICEMAN 

I've known him for five years — 

To be sure, only casually 

And in the pursuit of his calling, 

But, still, meeting him often : — 

In all that time 

IVe never seen him impatient, 

IVe never heard him say a word 

That he should regret. 

{Lovers and friends, please attend). 

I know that he is efficient ; 

He is brave and ^^ square'' 

(7 feel sure of this) ; 

He has a pleasant word for all, 

And befitting and timely, too; 

He is attentive to his work ; 

In a way, he is personable ; 

He keeps faith with his job : 

Now, pray tell me, 

Why does he remain 

On this crossing? 

On either side 

Of this street of gay plumage. 

In offices and sleek, *^ smart" shops, 

Are innumerable men 

"Who are lazy and slipshod 

[27] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



And superficial, and others 
Who lie like Munchausen, 
And others who would steal 
Anything that wasn^t nailed down. 

Why does my friend, being what he is, 
Remain on the crossing f 



[28] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



BLOSSOMS OF FRAGRANT DAYS 

Lightly they flit and with jubilant tune, 
In this rare and radiant month of June, 
With its wonderful sun and big, wise moon, 

Bob-o-link, Swallow and Jay. 
Merry and free is the carolling rill. 
As it romps its way down the sunny hill. 
With a spirit blithe and a ready will. 

For good is the golden day. 

Ay, the children frolic their way to school. 
But they pause to gaze in the placid pool, 
Mysterious realm of the lilies cool 

And frogs, in their idle play. 
When they reach the glade near the lofty pine 
They tarry to sip of that wonder-wine 
Of the gnome and elf, 'mid the bough and vine, 

While stilled is their roundelay. 

Right merry the rill and glad is the child, 
And joyous their world in its own so wild, 
With bounties unstinted and blossoms piled — 

Fragrant, beneficent way! 
This idyl of Youth with its moments sweet. 
Ours for a day, in a day that was meet ! 
Swiftly we ran, with oblivious feet : 

Gloweth the light of that day ! 



[29] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE HEEDLESS 

Why do they disappoint me so. 

When love would seem to warrant all 
That I had ever asked — or wished! 

Ah! They have failed at friendship's call. 

I thought we understood, and knew 
Contentment, joy and sweet repose; 

Rare comradeship was ours to hold — 
A dove among the blades of foes! 

My love I gave, and sought in them 
But love in kind, ay! nothing more. — 

The world is stark and drear tonight. 
Not bright and friendly, as of yore. 



[30] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



OUR PRIVILEGE 

Pray let us live today 

As though it were the last : 
Ay ! let us lead the way, 

Nor backward glances cast 
At roads which tried the soul. 
Pray let us help to lift 

The struggling and afraid, 
And make of use this gift 

Which at our door is laid — 
This vision of the goal ! 



UNTO FULL FRUITION 

Triumphant over death's dumb mystery 

And gleaming where the shadows densely crept, 
A beacon — an effulgence, luminous — 

To guard and soothe and succor tempest-swept, 
Mute souls, estranged from sweet serenity. 

Who wait and wonder, weep, reflect, in woe. 
High mission, held for those of saintly eyes— 

Though from our world departed ! Here below. 
In vision of that Better Life, more real 

To one so pure, so radiant and rare — 
We would not ask her fond companionship. 

For dear to us her dear release from care. 



[31] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE PEACTICAL JOKER 

A magician, of unlimited powers, 
Who had a whimsical wit, as well. 
Once tried a *' gorgeous" experiment. 
He shuffled people 's situations. 
But not their personalities. 

For example, he handed over 

For a day, from ten o'clock to ten o'clock 

(Which was long enough to yield a stimulating 
return) 

The family, friends, debts, troubles and joys 

Of O'Eiodan, the bar-keeper. 

To evangelist and prohibition worker, 

D. Willis Pendleton — and the job, beside: 

And, you may rest assured. 

He had trouble with the beer pump, 

And the brandy in the *^ floats" 

Refused to float, 

And he had to '* bounce" able-bodied ^^rough- 
necks," 

And the little daughter 

Of a bed-ridden customer 

Or patient or victim, 

As one is moved or persuaded 

To call him. 

Came ^* rushing the can"; 

And Pendleton, alias O'Riodan, 

Didn't know whether to tell her 

That he could hold out no hope, 

[32] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



Or to give her the **suds" and * ^forget if 

And O'Riodan, alias Pendleton, 

Was having no better time, 

For he was trying to make out 

That his yearly salary 

Was enough for his family 

And himself to live upon — 

Which was a poor joke : 

And some parishioners were saying 

That the Pendletons dressed too well, 

While others had the opposite impression, 

And expressed it, freely. 

Some thought he ought not 

To fish or smoke, 

Or play ^* seven up," or smile 

At the sisters, or tell funny stories, 

Or do anything to betray the secret 

That he was human. 

A committee or delegation of 

The self -chosen among men 

Instructed him, formally, 

That he was taking a liberty 

In allowing Willie 's dog 

To have a fit, publicly. 

On the piazza of the parsonage. 

There were other matters — 

Over which it is both 

More suitable and kind 

To draw a veil. 

[33] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



So much for the Pendleton-0 'Riodan case. 
There were many others. 

One super-refined lady there was, 

Who had always had 

Myrmidons and sycophants and handmaidens 

And fine linen and continuous ice-water 

(To say nothing 

Of appurtenances of repose) : 

Then, too, there were distant admirers 

(The distance not being 

Altogether their own idea) — 

This lady, with the refined background 

And surroundings, 

Had to sort incoming clothes 

In a laundry. 

A grave professor 
Of Greek art 
Was metamorphosed 
Into a base-ball umpire, 
And he became a target 
For sharp verbal criticism 
And opprobrious epithets 
And pop bottles. 

A man who was an epicure, 

A bon vivant, a connoisseur of Burgundy, 

Served in a * ^ quick-lunch ' ' place, 

Where a glad repartee of soup 

Made light the heart — 

Of the proprietor. 

[34] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



There were many odd situations ; 

A substantial addition 

To known psychology was made. 

Incidentally, 

Numerous folk were rudely awakened. 

Some of them rather liked this 

(For it gave even them 

Just a little thrill) ; 

But more did not. 

The strangest development of this thing 

Was something the joker 

Had not considered 

(He was a wit and not an altruist) — 

The next day, 

When order had been restored, 

People were almost kind 

To one another. 



TEEASUEES AND WITHHOLDINGS 

How benefits a golden tongue? 

Or ample and receptive mind? 
Or songs to sing, as never sung? 

Or fresh and flowered path to wind? 
If Love hath kindled not the heart. 

If Truth arouseth not our best. 
If Justice knew us but to part, 

Of what avail is all the rest? 



[35] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE DREAMEES 

A little barefoot boy 

Sat in the shade 

Of a large willow tree 

Which grew on the bank 

Of a rippling and swirling brook, 

A brook which ran over shallows 

And around unexpected bends, 

Invitingly, bewitchingly. 

And into deep places, 

AATbere it seemed to linger 

In the scented stillness 

Of the drowsy, Summer day — 

He fished a little, 

And he dreamed. 

Dreamed of the time 

When he would be a man. 

And do great things and bold. 

And be feared and loved. 

And have horses and trappings 

And servants and glad raiment. 

And a wife who was fair 

And good to look upon — 

He was happy, and smilingly he fell asleep. 

A man of middle age 

Sat in the shade of a tree, 

A large willow tree. 

Which grew on the bank of a brook. 

[36] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



He was in a reverie : 

He dreamed of the golden days, 

The glad, generous, golden days 

Of youth, of ample youth. 

He was a boy again, 

Fishing and dreaming 

Of knights and fair ladies. 

Of graces and formalities. 

Of sway and swagger and combat. — 

He was gray and worn 

And tired — long, long tired. — 

He was weary and sad. 

And so, old and worn and tired. 

He fell asleep. 

The heavy sleep 

Of exhaustion — 

the pathos of youth! 

THE EAELY DAYS— AND THESE 

Weary the spirit, lost the fire 
That early altitudes inspire; 
The confidence, the welling hope. 
Quick, eager love, of boundless scope, 
A world of gladness, cheer and light. 
In which no starless, murky night 
Falls like a pall on goodly things 
Of work and play — the morning sings. 
The fresh and sunlit day is glad : 
Ay, only fruitless age is sad. 

[37] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE EXCEPTION 

I knew a fellow named Briggs, 

"Who seemed to be rather more disliked 

Than most of us. 

His wife complained 

That he lacked ambition; 

His children deplored his manners 

And his style of dress, 

And a few old-fashioned ways 

That had survived harsh revisions : 

His neighbors regretted his music; 

His creditors thought him slow 

And careless and indifferent. 

Nevertheless, he had a friend 

Who considered him perfect, 

Or nearly so. 

This one didn't try to improve him, 

(Glory be!) 

He just wagged his tail 

And whined with satisfaction. 



[38] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



NIGHT AND THE CITY STREETS 

From whence are these, and whither do they go? 
Vain, restless shadows, flitting to and fro, 
Wending their way, at hand and yet afar. 
My kindred but unknown, their distant star 
Beyond my ken, strangers, yet strangely near. 
Not in the flesh, but by their love and fear ; 
And by their hidden strivings, loss and gain. 
Their triumphs and their failures, grimly vain ; 
Tried in the crucible, as I am tried. 
Tempted and tortured, feted, hated, cried 
Throughout the streets of Ascalon and bid 
To wage their fight when thwarted here amid 
Treasures and trophies turned to mocking dust — 
Exhausted, parched, yet travelling, since they 

must. 
They ask sweet respite and a space of peace — 
How long, how long? And is there fuU release? 



WHY? 

The sea is strangely shadowed, grey and sad, 
The distant hills lie sombre, dark and drear : 
Within my heart a creeping fear ! I dread 
Tomorrow, far away, with menace dark — 
light of life, where hast thou gone, and why? 



[39] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE POIGNANT WATCH 

For my sons, with all before, 

Do I pray: 
Ay, pathetic are their years, 
Scarcely loom life's lurking fears; 
Grope they out derided truth, - 
In the midst of crowds uncouth — 

Woe to stray! 
In their bright and precious cause, 
Is it strange that I should pause. 
With a yearning heart, for fate 
Noble mysteries to relate 

Of the fray! 
Keep them. Lord, from sin and sorrow, 
Let them naught from catiffs borrow, 
Nor despoil a brave to-morrow — 

Thus I pray. 



[40] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE BOUNTIFUL MORN 

Processionals and anthems from the bough, 
From flowering shrubs, from fresh and verdant 
field, 

The scented air, the droning of the bees, 
And all the blessings of the earth-blest yield ! 

A tranquil Summer sea, at early morn. 

Grey, pink and gold ; ah ! such a wealth of hues ! 

The silent forests, sweet to souls perplexed. 
The hills replete with gracious revenues ! 

In other hours, mayhap we wonder oft 
At purposes concealed, at mysteries. 

But gloom and doubt there cannot be amid 

The fresh and fragrant dews of morns like these. 

The humdrum world of care and dark and doubt 
Is far removed from such a plane as this. 

A paean in my joyous heart awakes ; 
Would wilful man these blessings use amiss? 



[41] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



LIKING AND DISFAVOR 

I warm toward the casual stranger dog, 
However underbred, 
That greets me with tail a-wag; 
(May he be successful 

In foray and adventure) : 
I feel a gentle glow, pleasant enough. 
When someone new to me 
(A clerk in a store, perhaps, 
Or a policeman, or that rara avis 
A theatre ticket seller who is not a bear) 
Shows a faint personal interest in me. 
Tells me, perchance. 
As occurred this morning. 
That I should carry a top coat on a cool day ; 
And sometimes a stranger even says 
That I am looking tired; 
I felt an impulse 
Of warm friendliness 
Toward a certain old lady 
Who remarked 
That my hair 

Was of an attractive shade of red; 
I fancied a shoe salesman 
Who said something about my foot 
Of conservative area — 

Yes, I am rather taken with these folk . . . 
But I hate an egotist. 



[42] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



TOWARD BETTER THINGS 

Here not to squander gold, 
Here not to barter dross, 
Nor yet for plaudits vain ; 
Rather to bear our pain, 
Smile when our gain is loss — 
Gracious our deeds untold! 

Happy, serene be our daily mien 

And knightly our works unknown; 
Truly for good be our daily mood — 
The dark and the doubt are flown. 



THE BOON OF TODAY 

The silence of the shadows and the dews. 

The laughter of the opalescent rill. 
The glory of the misted. Eastern sun. 

The grave, sustaining friendship of the hill! — 
The men who press my hand, and go their way 

In understanding, sure though unassayed! 
The patient, tender, musing, deathless smile 

Of one who loves — and wonders — unafraid ! 

The souls of those who soar on lambent wings, 

On wings which to the light give back the light, 
On wings unpurchasable — Truth and Love — 

In pure simplicity, their gracious might! 
Our meagre, stinted, uninspired work ; 

But still a little toward the right — and kind !— 
New opportunities that love for man 

The world unfolds, and we — ^no longer blind! 

[43] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



A FEIEND 

I knew him in the fragrant yesterday, 

And held him in my arms, 

A tender atom of humanity. 

He smiled at me. 

And there was something, 

Something winsome, patient, brave 

In that sweet smile. 

They tell me that he is no more. 

That life has led him 

To the parting of the ways. 

I see not a proud young man. 

Eager for high adventure, 

A knight, a lover, 

A brave soul 

In search of honorable conquest, 

A speaker of many tongues. 

I see 

(And the years drift away. 

Even as though they had not been) 

A tender babe. 

From a far, far land of mystery ; 

And I seem to know in his smile 

Pathos and wistfulness and love — 

Yet something more, 

A soft, sad longing. 

And a God-given ray 

Of friendliness. 

[44] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



I'D LIKE—? 

I'd like to have a woman's grace 

And smile at losing odds ; 
I'd like to be as neat and trim, 

As flippant toward the gods ; 
I'd like to be as self-assured, 

And yet not seem to care — 
But I'd remain my ugly self 

Before I'd take her hair. 

I'd like to have her tactful ways, 

Be poised and proud as she. 
Possess her calm in corners tight. 

Greet enemies with glee : 
I wish I had her ready nerve 

And owned her sweet repose, 
But I 'd remain the uncouth male 

Ere don her fussy clothes. 

I would have faith to risk my health 

In dress decollete ; 
I'd like to bear a charmed life, 

From reason turn away; 
I'd like to have the ^^ cheek" to state 

**I know it just because" — 
**The female of the species" shows 

A fine disdain for laws. 

[45] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



To have a whole and blithe contempt 

For fundamental facts, 
Regard the ponderous writ of sage 

As overrated tracts, 
Find a keen delight in trifles, 

Coquette behind my fan. — 
The part means loads of trouble, though: 

I 'd rather be a man. 



THE EAELY DAYS 

Sensitive, surprised, with quick delight. 
And all things fresh to senses clear and keen ! 
Misunderstood, rebuked and often blamed 
For what was done in innocence or hope; 
With those devoid of soul and sympathy. 
Whose vision has no scope or clarity. 
Enthroned, alas, as sage and arbiter ; 
Restrained, harassed and hedged about by rules. 
Laws made by those whose spontaneity 
Had died some melancholy eons since; 
Waiting, but not with patience born of years, 
T\niile doing senseless, strange and galling things. 
And always ruled by folk or circumstance : 
With tears and laughter, fears and thrills 
Ready to leap to full ascendency ! . . . 
Ah, boyhood, girlhood! bandied, sacred scroll! 



[46] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



AS THE DEAD LEAVES CRACKLE 

Sometime, in fading, retrospective days. 
With life an echo, faint — nor pleasing well — 

The present close concerns and joys and ways 
May be but as a harsh, discordant bell. 

Intrudes this spectre on my days and nights ; 

Nor leaves me whille at rest or task I stay ; 
It gibes at silken gifts and sacred rights 

And knows no rival in my toil or play. 

Pray, does it signify a worthy race 
Weakly, unworthily — ^not proudly — run? 

Am I, bewildered pilgrim, brought to face 
A debt, though I be neither heir nor son? 

Am I to pay for echoes, dust and mold? 

Confused, dismayed, in fear and doubt and woe? 
At curfew, are the bells agone untolled? — 

life ! Why overwhelm and torture so ? 



[47] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE COLD GROWS APACE 

November's snow would let us know 

That Winter calls ; 
The glowing coals make cheerful souls 

Within our walls. 
The mantled hills, the forest mute, 

Shy, frost-fringed streams and lonely lakes- 
My heart to Winter's charm awakes. 
No rift we find in this our lute. 



[48] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE SAGE IN BUD 

The little, barefoot boy, 

Freckled and tanned — and strangely carefree — 

Walked with me along the byroad 

Which wound through the sweet, green fields 

And led one, gradually. 

Through sunlight and pleasant shadows. 

To the railway station. 

We spoke casually and lightly 

On various subjects. 

In the course of our talk. 

He announced the intention 

Of going swimming: 

He further remarked, 

Innocently enough, 

That his twelfth birthday 

Was happily impending. — 

As we drew near the station. 

He added (or was it, mayhap. 

An unconscious peroration?) 

That he guessed 

I would like to change places with him. 

(It may be assumed 

That he had in mind 

My trip to the hot, unpleasant city: 

Conceivably, he meant more.) . . . 

Precocious profundity 

Is always a bit upsetting. 



[49] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



HER DEAD LOVEE AND A FRIEND 

The night is still, 

And drowsily the frogs 

Are croaking in the marsh. 

Damp and fresh and fragrant 

Are the tender winds. 

The crickets sing 

And sweetly the air 

Kisses my cheek; 

And I am waiting — 

But it is not a tryst, 

For I am old and spent. . . . 

What lover would I greet 

Save him whose call he heard? 

Then had my world stood still. 

WITH EYES UPLIFTED 

I would not tread the paths of indolence, 

Nor yet to favor turn a craven smile : 
The easy ways of turpitude invite ; 

Ah ! much in Life may lend itself to guile. 
The day is short and there is much of work, 

With toilers far too few, and some grow faint. 
Our task undone were left for kin to do : 

Weak the novitiate who makes complaint ! 
For this, our life, is stewardship and trust. 

Equivocation, ruse, the ready lie. 
Are unavailing, empty and afraid. 

While honour, truth and mercy cannot die. 

[50] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE HANDICAPPED 

For years, all of us considered him rather bright 

(That is, we believed that his mind 

Was intelligent and agile : he had a ready wit. 

He grasped questions quickly ; 

His understanding proved adequate, 

So far as we knew him). 

Of course, we did not regard him 

As possessing inherent honesty; 

In fact, he suffered 

From innate mental indirection: 

We were not always ready 

To take his word 

In matters wherein 

It would be to his advantage 

To misrepresent. 

He was not one whose moral perceptions 

Were clear and creditable. 

Rather, on the contrary, 

He was bland and plausible. 

Among his associates 

Were men whose probity 

Was not above question. 

Notwithstanding all of these defects, 

We rather liked him 

(It is a curious fact 

That personal liking 

And respect 

Do not always go hand in hand). 

[51] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



After a little while 

We had grown to accept 

A measure of insincerity, 

To take it for granted 

And to discount it. 

We would have said, perhaps, 

That he was something like 

Sixty percent good — 

And the rest 

We would prefer not to talk about. 

Now that the man is dead 
We find that his affairs, 
Business and otherwise. 
Are in a wretched condition : 
It appears 

That he became involved 
With men of his own stamp. 
But cleverer. 
And they beat him 
At his own game. 

Now we are all wondering 

As to the moral of the thing — 

On one point we are convinced; 

If he had been straighter 

He would have left a fragrant memory, at least, 

A thing which one finds, 

As one grows older, 

More and more worth while. 

[62] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



We sit and speculate 

And talk him over ; 

And I guess a lot of us feel 

That we might have helped a little 

To make him different — 

I wonder if this, 

After all, 

Was the lesson of his life ! 



BETTY 

Betty has such golden hair. 
Dimples sweet and skin so fair. 
Charming eyes! and roguishly 
She would try to make me see 
Things against all natural laws; 
Why? 0, just^ — well, just because.*' 

Ever I to reason bowed ; 
Logic, pure, I e'er avowed; 
Boasted I a mind serene : 
Always so it might have been 
Had not Betty interfered ; 
Presto! Judgment disappeared. 

Now before the printed page 
(Postulations of a sage!) 
Dancing eyes of witching blue. 
Slightly turned-up nose, a few 
Freckles, elfish mouth and lips — 
Dizzy, then, alas ! eclipse. 

[53] 



a 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



Vanquished, routed is my brain 
(Tried to rally it, in vain) : 
Logic, data, fact and wit 
Blown to bits ; and here I sit, 
Wreck complete — nor loth to be — 
Betty is so fair to see ! 

Spoiled has she the work of years. 
Filled my heart with qualms and fears ; 
Made me giddy — quite upset! 
Heartless little minx ! — and yet, 
Betty's picture smiles: for me 
Delectable insanity! 



THE PINES 

The stately pines above us 
Are nodding to and fro ; 

Unruffled, grave and gracious. 
They friendly seem to grow. 

The lissome lads and lassies 
In tender hours they knew, 

And whispered fragrant secrets 
To kindly skies so blue ! 

[54] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



These youths and maids unthinking 
Of Life's less golden days, 

The present found delightful — 
Their world and all its ways ! 

Avowals and professions 

Both swain and courtier breathed 
To favorite's ears receptive — 

And hearts were blindly wreathed. 

They told their love, rejoicing, 
In this well-favored shade: 

Ah! life was sweet, triumphant. 
Their paradise this glade. 

Alas ! these youths and maidens ! 

(Mown is their golden grain) 
The years rare harvests garner: 

Flesh and its day are vain. 

The pines are gravely nodding 

(A whisper or a sigh?) 
Have youths and maids, rejoicing. 

But one glad day — to die? 



[55] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE NIGHT WATCH 

A night zephyr stirs the dead leaves 

And brings to me 

Whispers from a distant brook — 

A mere wraith of carolling waters ! — 

In the silence, 

Strange, impenetrable. 

As though the world were sepulchered, 

I am waiting — 

Waiting for a Presence 

Wondrously fair, 

A Presence 

That will never, never come : 

And yet I wait, 

Because — 

I am in a wilderness. 

Alone, bereft of all 

That serves to guide and succor; 

Night surrounds me. 

And the spirit is spent. 



[66] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE PANGS OF YEARNING 

There 's a sleepy town in Dixie, 

Strays therein my vagrant heart, 
Where a gracious sun shines warmly 

And the night plays kindly part. 

(There the hours are all too brief.) 
Yes, my thoughts are wending ever 

To this peaceful, dreamy place, 
As the heart is keen in memory 

At the image of a face. 

(Earthly quickenings, shot with grief.) 

In the alien city canyons 

Often does the impulse come 
To escape the noise of conflict 

And the awful human sum, 

(With the bitter, blighting cold.) 
Yes, the tender, spirit-yearning 

For a youth-beloved town 
Fills me ever with emotion. 

Though the floods of life would drown. 
(What of pain, when all is told?) 



[67] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE LAKE 

Sylvan this limpid sheen lies Sitill, 
While brood the forest's silent ranks 

Enmirrored at the water's lips, 
Enshrined by gently sloping banks. 

Sweet peace and stillness here abound, 
No vagrant echoes stir the air; 

The busy, striving, anxious world 
In this has no embattling share. 

The business of the market place, 
Where eager is the selfish hand. 

Is alien to this solitude 

Which nurtures here the feathered band. 

The lure of gold, the pomp of sway. 
The hollow pride of worldly crowd. 

Are less than baubles wrought of dross. 
To pride of circumstance a shroud. 

Into my soul the fragrance dear 

Of some celestial ether rare 
Comes soft, enraptures, fills and holds ; 

The earth, the sky — their God — are fair. 

Our yesterdays were fraught with doubt ; 

Beclouded vision fathered fear. 
Lost shadows of a wasted hour ! 

Our earth-bound choice to grope and peer. 

[68] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



Mayhap, rare benefits await, 

Beyond, above, transcending earth: 
^^A better life than I have known,'* 
A spotless brotherhood of worth! 



THE DAY OF PARTING 

Who, then, will seek the sweet and shy arbutus? 

The ferns and mosses by the winding brook! 
Or, gliding on the limpid, friendly river, 

Will know by heart its every scene and crook? 
Who kin will find in wold and glade and thicket! 

And love surprise where love seemed not to 
dwell? 
Who, standing on some almost sea-locked boulder, 

Will eastward gaze, while sounds the guiding 
bell? 
Pray, who will stroke the heads of prattling chil- 
dren ? 

Or comfort them when tender hearts are torn? — 
And, least of all — ay, selfishly I ask it — 

Will love me, knowing all, when she is gone? 



[69] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



TOWAED PEACE 

The rivulet, from ice and snow, 

Speeds lightly dowTi the mountain-side 
To join the waters far below 

In verdant meadows, sweet and wide. 
How like our earthly progress, this ! — 

Impulsive first and boisterous, too ; 
Now deeper, calmer, more content — 

Serene, as comes the goal in view. 



[60] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE PAINS OF VICTORY 

On the first anniversary of the Sinking of 
S. S. Titanic 

A dream of God-like mastery, 

A craft- wise brain, a hand o 'er-sure ! 
And men to speed with word and gold — 

Men self-misled, in self secure. 
With boastful word and flippant jest 

And flaunting of the weakling's might 
They builded, in their childish zeal, 

And mouthed of weight and breadth and height. 
Blatant, they would not be 
Nearer, my God, to Thee. 

Proudly she sped on untamed seas — 

Conceived and built and launched in pride, 
And given to the Pagan toast, 

* ^ Man, the supreme of far and wide. ' ' 
Yes, regent of the deathless deep — 

Nor wind nor wave nor storm nor floe 
Might give her pause or doubt her sway — 

And all is well above, below. 

Sightless were these — as we — 
Nearer, my God, to Thee. 



With wine and prattle, mirth and song, 
Gay moments took their wasteful way. 

Bright jewels bandied ray for beam 
A thousand lights — and night was day. 

[61] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



In raiment fit for sceptred kings, 

'Mid dreams of splendor, strangely true, 
The child of luxury found ease — 

These petted, pampered, hot-house few. 
Scorned they the bended knee — 
Nearer, my God, to Thee. 

Then in a trice all this was changed; 

The forwardness, the bald display 
Of this man-deifying craft 

Was gone — a stricken thing she lay. 
Man looked on man, with soul laid bare : 

And then awoke to life, thank God, 
The human best of dormant worth 

In silken strangers to the rod. 

Blind, under stress they see — 
Nearer, my God, to Thee. 

The rule of seven seas rang true 

In virile ears ; prompt to obey 
Were women filled with dread to go 

Because their near and dear must stay. 
Brave men, from lighter laws set free, 

Proved Anglo-Saxon to the bone ; 
And hack musicians, knightly now. 

Played bravely, over oars and moan, 
''Still, all my song shall be. 
Nearer, my God, to Thee.'' 

[62] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



When every man-made thing had failed, 

A sepulcher the silent sea, 
What gave these women fortitude? 

And roused in men humanity! 
Not cultivation, goods or gold, 

(Ah! These, profane, could comfort none) 
Not influence, or things self -wrought — 

No. Deep within their hearts the one 
Soul-cry of main and lea — 
* ^ Nearer, my God, to Thee. ' ' 

Pray, stifle boast of march and skill. 

For life is life and God is law. 
And crass achievement of today 

Will yet be less than less before : 
But simple heart and childlike faith 

Endure till man is lost to earth. 
Above disaster's awful sounds 

Celestial music speaks of Birth. 
Always, and e'er to be — 
Nearer, my God, to Thee. 



[63] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



INTROSPECTION 

The proud and eager Youth 
Asked of the patriarch 
(The thoughtful patriarch, 
Whose life had been 
A book much read and pondered) 
"What, of all his well-spent time 
He deemed the wisest-spent. 
Pondered the sage a trice. 
And then he made response, 

* * Of all my life of rich experience, 
The moments, gone for aye. 

On which I dwell with greatest joy 

And deepest satisfaction, 

Are those, of tender memory, 

Passed, all too quickly. 

With mine own precious Mother. ' ' 

Then asked the Youth, 

* ^ In all your days. 

What effort, work and strivings 
Do you recall most gladly T' 
The old and bowed and wrinkled man replied, 
**Your query is not hard to answer. Friend, 
Though two score years ago it might have been; 
The efforts dearest to me, resting here. 
Are those simple and unstudied ones 
Made, by the wayside, for my fellow-travelers — 
Those modest, little-thought-of things; 

[64] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



A kindly, sympathetic word, 

A thoughtful, gentle deed, 

The helpful hand, 

Given to Age, Weakness, Childhood or Despair." 

The Youth departed, 

Pondering as he went. 

His world seemed small, discordant and unreal. 

His life must needs be dwelt upon 

And re-arranged. 

Brightly the sun shone, as he had known; 

Sweetly the birds sang in the swaying boughs ; 

The winding brook was quick with life 

And, giving and rejoicing, went its way; 

Ay! The Universe was the same — 

Yet, not the same: 

For solemnly he quickened with the thought 

That, humble though his sphere. 

He was one with God 

And with Infinitude. 



[65] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



JOHN EGBERTS 

John Roberts was industrious : 

He worked and schemed and thought; 
Overmatching human nature, 

He wheedled, begged and fought; 
Through his concern he forced his way 

From humble place to top ; 
He strangled some, some strangled him, 

(To these he fed a sop.) 

Self-exiled he, and destitute. 

For friends he had no heart ; 
His occupation, joy and rest. 

Religion, hope and art 
Were centered in his business ; 

At dawn, at noon, at night 
He dreamed of people he could *'do,'' 

And did them with delight. 

Yet, turning forty-two, he thought 

Of something new to gain. 
To wit, a wife — one who could help 

His prestige to sustain: 
So married he a debutante 

(Whose parents liked the price) ; 
Which made the silver social scales 

Observe their balance, nice. 

[66] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



Straightway these two began to work 

Upon a country place ; 
They studied plans, she talked, he bought, 

With really pleasing grace, 
Pergolas, portieres, porticos 

And formal gardens, grand. 
And marble fonts and tapestries 

And links of dune and sand. 

Till, hastened by his industry 

At last the new estate 
Was prepared for cold inspection. 

They gave a garden fete. 
At which, John Eoberts and her friends 

Shook hands and smugly lied — 
Next day (to make the job complete) 

He took a chill and — died. 



ALIBIS 

The first man said, 
^^It was that infernal school 
That blasted my career." 
The second said, ^'Well, thank your stars 
That you can find the thing 
That spoiled your chance in life : 
In my own case, I cannot." 
The third said nothing, but he thought 
That with him it had not been 
A case of ^^Let Georp;e do it." 

[67] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



CHRISTMAS EVE 

At ease in this mine own and bright abode, 

I rest like some storm-refugee in port, 
Some mariner who bides abatement sure. 

Safe from the cruel fury of the gale — 
Yet I would not exult nor smile, secure. 

While others in mankind's distress turn pale, 
And flagellations, sweet to Fate, endure : 

Broken in body, mind and soul they fail. 

Beneath this window these my brothers walk. 

And I am stirred to know their inward hail ; 
Ah ! is it one of cheer or quite the last 

Before the waves of circumstance override? 
Some slowly plod their way and some go fast, 

Defiant some, while others would confide — 
Behind the most a sharp, besetting past. 

Hard prospects and the bitter **now'' beside. 

From whence came these and whither do they 
wend? 

Ah ! hard has been the path of most, I trow : 
Where'er they go man's hapless footprints lead; 

'Tis nothing new to suffer and to dread — 
Yes, stout-born hearts of some of these did heed 

(For men have times unnumbered met their 
dead), 
And hopeless seen the stars at dawn recede 

And dumbly wondered if their God misled. 

[68] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



These streets are walked by proselyte and priest, 

By high and low, by prince and pauper trod. 
Going their ways — the good, the bad, the fool, 

The sage, the young, the old, the unannealed. 
Virtue's own priestess and the bawd, the tool 

Of some unscrupulous and unrevealed. 
Salacious, guileful, plotting wretch. — This school. 

This school of life its worst hath well concealed. 

'Tis Christmas Eve, and some must meet their 
dead 
Before the dawn of Christ's bright natal day; 
And some must grip dear hands in hard farewell, 

Some now to creditors in Fate assign — 
This being so, I ask ye, friends, to dwell 

A trice (for us no other sun may shine) 
On this; tomorrow's chimes may be the knell 
Of some lost soul, once fairer, far, than thine. 

Then would I ask of thee a nobler thing : 

To give not only of thy goods and gold, 
But give thy hand and give thy heart, as well ; 

Think not of self, but of a Father's son, 
Thy brother, who beneath His roof doth dwell. 

Doth dwell with thee until the day is done. 
And who, please God, may hear the words, ^ ^ 'Tis 
well," 

And know, with thee, a valiant fight is won. 



[69] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



TWILIGHT 

When I am old and spent, 

And toilsome, weary leagues 

Of life's long road 

Lie far behind. 

And I am waiting, waiting 

For Death, my neighbor, 

Should I be asked 

If I would like to tread again 

Its far-flung miles, — 

I would not say, * * My Friend, 
Nay, for ever we must push on, 
Though Youth and Health and Hope 
No longer by our side 
Stride brightly forth, 
When our steps falter 
And the heart 
No more is glad''; 

But I should say 

That I am hesitant 

Because, 

Knowing life a little 

And myself, alas, too well, 

I do not dare. 



[70] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



SUECEASE 

'Mid the turmoil of the day, 
In the hurried hours of toil, 

Strangely dim is basic truth, 
Oddly bright the glint of spoil. 

Noble figures fade afar; 

Gold and dross become as one; 
Baubled villainy grows fat, 

As the sun its arc doth run. 

When the twilight dusky grows 

And the night approacheth, calm 
Sweetly comes to troubled heartsr- 
Fragrance, rest, reward and balm ! 



[71] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



LIFE'S FAIREST HOUR 

A feathered messenger 

Flew through the trees 

And across the sparkling brook 

And above the wooded hills, 

Over the cool and grassy dells, 

Blithely, on and on 

As though the world were new. . 

He flew above me, 

In descending cycles. 

More and more slowly — 

Then he alighted on my shoulder. 

Though why he had chosen me, 

Flying over others 

Refusingly, 

The wisest among men 

Could not say: — 

But thus comes 

This cryptic messenger, 

Silently and lone. 

From out the great spaces 

Where Light is born — 

From whence none knoweth. . . . 

I whispered to him 
In a new found tongue, 
Fearfully, with heart athrob : 
I hoped that he would tarry. 
Ecstasy filled my being. . . . 

[72] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



I breathed his name, 

Softly, so softly! 

For a space, 

"animagined rapture ! 

He nestled against my cheek- 

And then was gone. ... 

In my dreams, 

The dews of many sorrows 

Make dim my eyes ; 

But none like this — 

None like this. 

bird ethereal ! 
Wonderful, beautiful 
Messenger of Love ! 



[73] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE RIVER AT DAWN 

Unhurriedly, it winds its way between 

Still, verdant banks, where elfin steeds would 
browse. 
Shallows anon, again cool, limpid deeps ! 

By meadows wide, where kine untroubled 
drowse ; 
But ever onward, toward the distant sea, 

As kindred streams from out Jehovah's hills 
Fulfill their missions, one with us and ours ; 

Not subjects of our unsubstantial wills. 

They, wisely ordered, wondrously controlled. 

In their rare universe play goodly part. 
Ordained and dedicated, even as 

The inspirations of the human heart. 
Ay! rivers, forests, tillage, uplands, plains. 

The song of birds, shy, unambitious bowers ! 
A symphony composed by soul Divine — 

All glory His, high obligation ours. 



[74] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



HUMANITY 

Street folk are moving to and fro. 
They come, tliey pause and lightly go ; 
Comrades and strangers, young and old, 
Eager and loth and over bold. 
Sleek and favored, shabby and thin, 
Some virtuous, some steeped in sin: 
Yet one thing marks this motley throng— 
The fact that they with me belong. 
The fact that I am one with each 
Earth's hard curriculum doth teach. 
For earth's great human melting pot 
Eeceives the pauper, gamester, sot, 
As well, philanthropist and peer. 
The simpleton, the dolt and seer — 
Ay ! be the product good or ill. 
We all must help this pot to fill. 



[75] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



MOMENTOUS INTERESTS 

He was all agog 
Over blue-prints and things 
Concerning a pile of bricks. 
(It was, prospectively, 
The finest building in town ; 
And he was to be 
The central figure 
Of the scheme). 

She was crazy 

About a distinctive suit. 

It had more of this 

And less of that 

Than most suits — 

And different lines. 

And remarkable buttons; 

And was calculated 

To fill the heart 

Of the woman over the way 

With envy and despair. 

The little son 

Built a bridge of blocks ; 

Then he knocked it down, 

And laughed. — 

He was only a child. 



[76] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE WOODEN CROSS 

Before me lies this speaking screed, 
A father's love and pride — and loss 

Laid bare ; and naught of Fate 's assault, 
But much of him who, freed from fault, 
Stands smiling at the lethal toss ; 
He greeteth Life from blemish freed. 



PART OF THE SONG 

It frolics down through the glad, green hills, 

In a mood of rare delight. 
Fed by a chattering score of rills. 
On its eager, boist'rous flight. 

Adding its bit with a song so gay 

To a genial, sunny, gladsome day. 

In the fresh and hopeful month of May ! 



[77] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



A MYSTERY 

A silent, fragrant night! 

The ruined walls of a cathedral, 

Still fair with artistry 

Which counted not the hours ! 

Its broken nave 

(A treasury of beauty, 

Epitome of life 

And a memorial 

Of some creator 

Gone long since 

Beyond the trammels of a world 

In which 

Art has a mission) — 

And through this nave. 

Careening, circling bats 

Disport themselves : 

Its crumbling crypt, 

No longer trod 

By priest or acolyte, 

Forsaken lies : 

A scarred sarcophagus 

On which a knight. 

With mailed and idle hands 

Folded across the hilt 

Of his brave sword, is eloquent, 

And now. 

Through all the long and sunlit day, 

Unvisited! . . . 

[78] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



And in a grassy dell, 

Sweet, silent, shy, secure, 

A pair of lovers. 

Whispering, anon, 

Those threadbare, honeyed, 

Senseless, priceless words 

That lovers breathe — 

And over all, 

A cryptic, starry sky ! 

mystery 

On mystery! 



THE DAYS IN STORE 

Yes, the snow of March is falling. 
Wet, it blurs my window pane ; 
Though belated storms are palling. 
To deplore is quite in vain : 

For the warmth of Spring is waiting, 
Tuneful birds will soon be mating. 
And the joyous brooks relating 
Tales of forest, wold and lane. 



[79] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THEIRS AND MINE 

It matters not to me what strangers think 

(For they, as distant as the cryptic stars, 

Dwell unto themselves, and I, unled. 

Am waiting, waiting for I know not what) : 

But I would have those nearer ones to feel, 

Those who at last embrace security. 

Ay, friend, I 'd have them know 

That not in vain 

Had been their voices, guiding. 

In the long, dark night. 



[80] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



SUNSET 

The fallacies of ages past, 

All error since the world was new, 

The childish clinging to a shred 

Of truth, and terror lest that shred 

By fate be flung away ; — 

The foolish faith of land and tribe 

In lies but thinly washed with truth, 

In men who made them, speciously. 

That pawns might be the more misled, 

In men who to themselves were God — 

And all the hallowed goals of pain 

Were deep within a wilderness. 

And all the things that seemed so real, 

So real and vital in a moment, quick. 

Lay dead. 

Then vistas, vast, of vain regrets 

Will stretch away to troubled wastes 

Wherein the germ of fault was born; 

But nearer, clearer to my sight 

Will be those things that I have done 

In faith and hope. 

In fervor, seeking light and peace — 

Beatitudes and benisons. 

Which now by ghoulish alchemy 

Are turned to something less in life, 

And something subtly more, 

Than poignant griefs 

And woes without perspective. 

[81] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



Ay ! This I know to be the end : 

And with slow hands, 

Weary, wasted hands that grope, 

With eyes that look into the dark. 

And with a soul 

That knows, alas, no rest, 

I am waiting, 

Waiting 

For the something 

That follows this. 

My life. 



VOICES 

The myriad voices of the sea 
Are ever clearly calling me. 
Alone, I listen on the shore : 
From out a free and boundless store 
A hundred messages I hear 
Concerning love and hope — and fear, 
Concerning Life — the dream — and death. 
At times a whisper — scarce a breath, 
Anon beseeching, then command: 
And I — alone — ^upon the strand. 
The strand of silver, by the sea, 
Am dumb before eternity. 



[82] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



a 



TIME IN THY FLIGHT^' 



The gracious yesterdays are gone, 

Their fragrance lost on blasting winds. 
To dear remembrance, sweet and sad, 
Golden their moments, rich and glad! 
balm to us, of troubled minds ! 
How much had we ! To blessings born. 
Objective is this latest day. 
Its harder view, its shorter way, 
So unadorned — nor brave, nor gay! 
^ ' Efl&ciency ? ' ' Yes, we have heard 

On boastful tongues this weary phrase : 
' ' The road direct, ' ' and ' ' friction lost, ' ' 
But naught a syllable of cost 
In man-machines, made thus a-craze 
That oafs may mouth an empty word. 

*^Yes, showmen, we are old — and proud: 
Our days more human scope allowed ; 
Nor are we by your present cowed. ' ' 



[83] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



VALUES 

I 

Stephen Wilson 

Early gave promise 

Of a career. 

At school 

He was in the ^' first flight/' 

At eighteen he sang in the choir 

Of the Baptist Church. 

At nineteen he entered the office 

Of the Steep Brook Mills. 

At twenty he started 

A monotonous series 

Of promotions. 

From this point 

It is clear 

That he would marry 

The owner's daughter, 

And he did. . . . 

At fifty-nine he died, 

Of an overworked brain. 

And undeveloped body. 

Auto-starvation 

And atrophy 

Of the sense of humor. . . . 

Bill Hopkins 

Remarked 

That the obsequies 

[84] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



Constituted 
*^A hell of a funeral." 
Let us not attempt 
To improve on this. 

II 

John Wilson, 

Steve's brother, 

Was a careless boy. 

He played ^^ hookey" 

From school ; 

And thus gave 

The teacher 

A chance to enjoy 

Beneficial 

Light exercise 

And indoor sport: 

The less tender 

(Or emotional) 

Of the scholars 

Were all taken up 

With seeing 

The *^Kid" squirm, 

And wondered why 

He didn't ^^ holler" 

(There's a moral in this 

For graver years) — 

As he matured. 

He took up 

Vagabondish ways. 

[85] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



The hills and streams, 

The woods and ponds 

Knew him better 

Than the folk 

Of the village. 

He was 

Familiar 

To the children, 

To dogs and horses 

And to the birds, 

The squirrels and the wild hares. 

He fashioned boats 

For little boys and girls ; 

He taught youngsters to swim; 

He helped them 

To gather chestnuts ; 

He made bully kites. — 

When older 

He became 

A ^* Saturday barber,'' 

And a doer of odd jobs : 

Now he could whistle 

With a wonderful lilt, 

He hummed a good deal, 

Softly, to himself, 

And he had 

A slow, sweet. 

Transforming smile. 

Which made one forget 

Shiftlessness and rags. 



[86] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



III 

Both Steve 

(The successful and prosperous) 

And John 

(The ne'er-do-well) 

Are dead 

This thirty years. — 



I observe a curious thing : 
People still speak 
Of John. 



[87] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



MAN AND MANIKIN 

I 

Zeke Hopkins 

Wears Congress shoes, 

A celluloid collar, 

Fireman's suspenders, 

A made tie, 

Detached cuffs. 

Vest, pants and — a patient smile. — 

Some remember 

That he was the man 

Who offered sanctuary 

To Sadie Jones, 

When the anointed of the Lord 

(As they advertised themselves) 

Closed their doors 

Against her 

(Some folk are hyper-sensitive 

To ob\dous contamination) 

And preened themselves. 

Morally and ethically, 

In that they smote the devil thus. — 

Sadie Jones, 

Poor, mistaken, terrified child. 

Suffered much. 

In heart, mind and body. 

Before her ten-fold atonement, 

This homely man. 

True and compassionate. 

Was dumb. 

In the moving presence 

[88] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



Of a racked body 

And tortured soul, 

He suffered, 

Vicariously. 

After these trials, and more, 

Ay ! After tribulation and tears, 

He helped to bury 

The Jones girl: 

And then 

He and his wife 

Took care of the baby 

Until coy relatives 

Could be smoked out 

And persuaded 

To try being human. 



For these deeds 

The Sisters of the Busy Tongue 

Criticised him 

(In the main, unfavorably) ; 

Some shook their heads 

And suggested 

That he was trying to ^' square'^ himself 

With God (a difficult matter, we conceive) 

And with some of the human family. 

By way of repartee, 

Zeke Hopkins 

Chewed tobacco 

Almost with violence. ... 

[89] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



Yes, I feel sure 

That Zeke Hopkins 

Is on his way to Heaven. 

II 

Basil Reginald Smythe, 

Whose mansion 

Is on De Soto Ave., 

Is draped 

In clothes of faultless fit; 

And the price 

Of one of his waistcoats 

Would buy Zeke a new suit. 

He reads Ibsen and Shaw 

And Henry James, 

And others 

Who cause one's brain 

The most frightful exertions. 

He was educated 

At Eton and Oxford. 

He has a mind 

(Of a sort) ; 

And family; 

And clubs ; 

And a fine taste in tea. 

He has the theory 

Of many things 

(Or enough of it 

For purposes 

Of sprightly talk). 

[90] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



His insulation 

Never wears off. 

Nobody calls him *' Buddy," 

Or ^^Old Hoss": 

These 

Are among the things 

That couldn't be done. . . . 

Yet, 

Notwithstanding all these facts, 

I doubt, seriously. 

If he is on his way to Heaven. 

Ill 

There are three things 

Of immeasurable worth 

About the miraculous Lincoln — 

His simplicity. 

His love. 

And his supreme understanding, 

(Reverent, profound, minute. 

And so tenderly human!) 

Of his brother's heart. 



[91] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



FUNDAMENTALS 

During the tempest, 

They gathered 

In haste 

And by circumstance 

(At least, it was by circumstance 

So far as we, 

Blindly groping 

Our tortuous way 

Through life 

Can tell). 

There was Youth 

(Brimming over with health 

And high spirits. 

And eager for adventure). 

There was the Older Man, 

(Less keen, perhaps; 

Certainly less venturesome ; 

And much less confident). 

The third was Age 

(Thoughtful, prudent, deliberate, 

Living much in retrospect, 

And envying Youth far less 

Than Youth conceived). 



[92] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



The woodsman's hut 

Was old 

And scarred by time, 

But the roof, 

Though rude and weather-worn, 

To be sure. 

Was sound enough 

To keep the wayfarers 

Almost dry. — 

There had been 

The casual word, 

A little impatient watching 

Of the storm 

And forecasts, 

Both fearful and promising : 

Now they had composed themselves 

(As Age knew all along 

Would be the case) ; 

The time was ripe 

For graver talk. 

Being between the poles 

Of age. 

The Man of Forty-five 

Began it. 
*^ What, ''he asked, 
*^Is the greatest tragedy of life?" 
* * Surely, ' ' answered the youth. 

After a moment's thought, 
i i r£YiQ greatest tragedy of life 

Is unrequited love. 

[93] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



Pray, how could one 
Imagine a greater ? ' ' 
The Middle-aged Man 
Pondered 

While one might, perhaps, 
Have counted twenty. 
Then he said, 
**I cannot quite believe 
In what has just been said ; 
For it seems clear to me 
That far, far more 
Unfortunate 
Is he who never loved; 
For love 
Illuminates, 
Transfigures, 
Exalts, interprets 
This strange 
And transitorv state 
Called Life.''— 



-'•«*'l'W-*" , 



The Old Man 

Sat silent: 

He had lived 

And he had observed 

And thought much 

And deeply; 

His years were heavy upon him 

At this time. 

He looked 

[94] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



From one to the other 
Of his companions; 
Then he said, 
' ^ The storm abates : 
Let us return, 
Whither we would. ' ' 



As they started forward, 
The patriarch 
Murmured to himself. 
Error abides in both; 
But if they know not. 
It is not meet 
For them to know. ' ' 



n 



[95] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



AT FORTY-FIVE 

Too many of the friends who by oner's side 

Strode boldly forth on Youth's glad, sunny road 
Are gone, and in fair dreams alone still live. 
Alas ! Mere life has little now to give. 
The way is long, beyond our strength the load. — 
Yet, stretches forth a highway, clear and wide. 

Children to lead, their tangles to unwind : 
The old, the weak, the lost, who struggle on ; 
The less they hope, the more Fate holds them 

here. 
While others keep the futile tryst — nor 
fear. — 
Life's flavor stale, and most but spectres gone: 
Not eager now, or proud — nor quite resigned. 



[96] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



THE EOSES IN UNCLE JIM'S GAEDEN 

The roses in Uncle Jim's garden, 

Dear children of shower and sun! 
So sweet with the dew of the morning, 

And fragrant when daylight was done. 
Pale yellow, and white — and some crimson — 

Eetreating from work-a-day things : 
All safe from the grime of the highway 

And fanned by the flutter of wings. 

He cherished and guarded these roses — 

His roses, and children, as well — 
And reared them so fondly and proudly 

That naught of misfortune befell. 
And the maidens, demure, whom they honored 

As tributes and tokens so chaste ! 
Who welcomed and treasured them fondly, 

With naught of indifference or haste. 

Ah ! Who is now keeping the roses, 

In the garden of Jim's delight? 
When dews of the morning, refreshing. 

Succeed to the slumberous night I 
And where are the maidens, so lovely, 

Unrecking of moth and of rust? 
Sweet roses — ay! cycles of roses! 

And memories, echoes and dust. 



[97] 



THE GARDEN BY THE SEA 



SILENCE AND THE DEWS 

'Tis eventide, when shadows longer grow; 

Gorgeous the Western sky and grey the sea : 
Sweet sounds of night approaching, soft and slow, 

Are whispering to the fragrant winds — and 
me. — 
A sense of tried security and peace 

My spirit bathes — which care would fain obsess — 
This gracious moment offers sweet release 

From mortal dart and manifold distress. 

My humble cot invites with simple cheer, 

I welcome rest from labour and from care ; 
A sore and troubled world holds naught of fear. 

The night benign bends close, is strangely fair : 
And I would know sweet surcease from the fight, 

By storms untroubled as the slumbering deep, 
In trust serene, relieved from pain and plight. — 

The day is done. I give myself to sleep. 



[98] 



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